District 9 Team Member Spotlight

Elisha Boyd-Koonce, Deputy Superintendent

As a proud graduate of New York City Public Schools, I bring over fourteen years of experience as an educator in urban and public-school settings—and I am deeply passionate about leading transformative change grounded in diversity, equity, and inclusion. My journey began with eighteen years in corporate America, where I developed expertise in human resource management, data analysis, and reporting at global investment banks. That adaptive and technical foundation has shaped my approach to educational leadership, empowering me to use data-driven strategies that drive continuous improvement and measurable outcomes for both students and staff.

Before becoming Deputy Superintendent, I served as a Principal in District 7-Bronx, where I successfully led the merger, rebranding, and transformation of two schools into a thriving K-8 S.T.E.A.M. campus. Prior to that, as Assistant Principal in Brownsville, Brooklyn, I guided my school community through the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. My district-level work at the Brooklyn South Borough Office as an Educational Administrator-Senior Achievement Specialist allowed me to provide teacher evaluation and mathematics leadership across five districts, designing professional learning and supporting instructional improvement.

I hold a B.S. in Management and Computer Information Systems from Kaplan and NYU, an M.S. in Middle Childhood Education (Mathematics) from Brooklyn College, and school leadership certifications in both New York and New Jersey. I also earned my Executive Leadership Coaching certification from Columbia University.

My daily work is fueled by a commitment to culturally responsive teaching and learning, social-emotional learning, and innovative instructional practices. I believe in building capacity in others, creating equitable learning environments, and ensuring every student is prepared for future success. Above all, I believe we don’t “have to”—we “get to” do this work, and we get to do it “on purpose and with purpose”.